S.D. legislators can't agree on restoring $2 million to state police budget

The Associated Press

2/29/2008

PIERRE, S.D. — Tense talks between members of the South Dakota Senate and House ended Thursday with abandonment of a bill that sought to restore $2 million in Highway Patrol funding that Gov. Mike Rounds intends to cut, causing some to say that public safety was being jeopardized.

A panel of six negotiators from the two chambers was unable to agree on restoration of any money for the law agency.

SB172 had been on the ropes for several days.

Sen. Gene Abdallah, R-Sioux Falls, former superintendent of the Highway Patrol, offered the measure to provide the agency with full funding.

He said public safety will be jeopardized if the Highway Patrol does not buy a new round of cars for troopers, cuts overtime and reduces gasoline use by requiring troopers to spend more time idling along roads instead of driving.

Troopers are underpaid, and morale has been low since the cuts were announced, Abdallah said.

“They lay their lives on the line every day,” he said. “We're treating them like they're nothing.”

House negotiators were unwilling to restore more than $350,000 of the patrol's budget. Sen. Scott Heidepriem, D-Sioux Falls, suggested that $527,000 be put back into the law agency to at least cover lost overtime and gasoline costs, but the proposal was rejected.

“It's a small price to pay for public safety,” Abdallah said.

Heidepriem made a last-minute offer of $440,000 to split the difference, but that, too, was rejected by House negotiators, led by Rep. Shantel Krebs, R-Sioux Falls.

At one point, Krebs offered the proposal to restore $242,000 of funding, which represents the amount of lost overtime. That was rejected by the Senate negotiators, and Heidepriem then urged the panel to reject the entire bill. The vote to do so was unanimous.

After the panel gave up, a frustrated Abdallah said of Krebs to reporters: “I wonder who she was representing, the Legislature or the second floor (governor's office).”

Krebs, whose husband, Mitch, is the governor's press secretary, lashed back minutes later in an interview with The Associated Press.

“That comment is completely inappropriate and disrespectful, and I resent what Sen. Abdallah is saying,” Rep. Krebs said. “I represent the people of South Dakota. I represent my caucus. I represent the taxpayers, and the taxpayers recognize that we are in a tight budget.”

Rep. Krebs noted that she even offered to restore $350,000 to the Highway Patrol budget, but it was rejected, too.

“Abdallah is the one that's not representing the taxpayers,” she said. “He walked away from reinstating the overtime for the troopers, and that is a personal agenda. When you don't get your way, you walk away completely. We could have had a compromise.”

Rounds later told reporters he'd spoken earlier in the legislative session with Abdallah and was willing to work with him on the issue. But the governor said Abdallah never came back to talk about Highway Patrol funding.

Rounds said he is willing to consider providing the law agency with $242,000 more to allow additional overtime for troopers. He noted, however, that his $2 million reduction would cut overtime an average of only one hour per week for each trooper.

Other state agencies also are being asked to reduce spending because of weak fuel-tax revenues, the governor said. He said the Highway Patrol is expected to also do its part.

“We're going to do our best to live within our goals,” Rounds said.

The governor said the state Transportation Department is being cut by $4.5 million, and the Game, Fish and Parks Department budget is being cut by $2 million because of weak revenues.

“The Legislature doesn't expect me ... just because it's been appropriated, that I spend every penny in every department every year,” Rounds said.

Heidepriem noted that the governor had said earlier that he may not spend the $2 million even if the Legislature reinstated it. The Democratic lawmaker said that was “breathtaking to imagine.”

“By appropriating dollars, we say to a governor or an agency that this is something we care so much about, here is the money to do it and this is what we expect to be done. We're this not to occur, would be very disappointing,” said Heidepriem, who is Senate Democratic leader.

Tom Dravland, state public safety secretary, said the Highway Patrol already has begun to implement some cost-saving measures to be sure they are workable. Dravland said he was informed by the governor in November that the law agency's budget would be trimmed by $2 million.

Abdallah said the 11 percent cut in Highway Patrol funding would not save taxpayers' money because county law officers will have to assume more law enforcement duties.

Delaying the purchase of 30 Highway Patrol cruisers this year will mean that the state has to buy 60 of them next year, Abdallah said.

“We're not saving any money,” he said. “We're just deferring it until next year.”